Islanders sign Hilbert, Hisey, both potential Sound Tigers

Published 10:09 pm, Wednesday, August 18, 2010

As the summer wore on and AHL teams filled their holes, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers' projected roster still had a gap right down the middle.

The parent New York Islanders may have moved to fill that hole by signing two centermen on Wednesday. Veteran Andy Hilbert returned to the Islanders organization, and Rob Hisey joined it, both on one-year contracts. If they don't stick in the NHL, they'll be in Bridgeport.

Both have been standouts in the offensive end of the ice. Hilbert was a two-time AHL all-star during his time with Providence.

In 272 career AHL games, mostly with the Bruins, Hilbert has scored 242 points, including 113 goals. He played four years almost exclusively in the NHL -- including three with the Islanders, 2006-09 -- before signing with Minnesota last year and spending most of his season with Houston in the AHL.

"What Andy brings is veteran leadership and depth to the Islanders organization," Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said. "We certainly know the character of the player. ... I certainly don't expect him to be with (Bridgeport) all year."

The background for Hisey, who'll turn 26 next month, is a bit more varied.

Including junior hockey and tryouts with pro teams, Hisey has played in 10 different leagues in six different countries over the past seven seasons. He played with Bridgeport's Jesse

Joensuu in Finland in

2008.

Hisey has put up nice-to-gaudy offensive statistics in all of them. Last year, after joining a scuffling-along Springfield team around Christmas, he scored 11 goals and 14 assists in 37 games. It was his first stint in the AHL.

"He definitely has the craftiness and the skill level to compete at our level," Bridgeport coach Jack Capuano said. "He's got good vision. He makes his linemates better."

Hisey is listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds in a game that still likes its players hulking and bruising. Still, he showed last year that he doesn't shy away from contact or from crashing the net.